Chapter Seventy-Two: Seizing Mechanical One

The deeper they ventured into the valley, the more corpses lay strewn across the ground, along with many broken weapons and pieces of equipment. It was clear that the tribe’s retreat had not gone smoothly, but had instead devolved into fierce combat. The slaves trailing behind Sun Licheng were terrified, trembling with fear; if not for the Wolf King maintaining order at the rear, they likely would have scattered in panic long ago.

After walking a little farther, a wooden fortress appeared ahead, which, at a glance, seemed largely intact. Its wooden watchtower and gate showed little sign of damage.

“That’s the tribe’s original encampment,” the guide said, pointing toward the fortress.

Sun Licheng nodded and prepared to press onward, but the guide from the Star Moon Tribe called out to him.

“What is it?” Sun Licheng turned, his brows furrowed.

“Well, I... I was supposed to escort you here, and now I plan to head back,” the guide replied, lowering his head and nervously kicking at the ground, clearly anxious about Sun Licheng’s response.

After a moment’s thought, Sun Licheng agreed, and the guide breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wait, you haven’t told me where the mercury mine is,” Sun Licheng said, grabbing the guide’s hand as he prepared to leave.

“Just go through the fortress, keep walking for a bit, and you’ll come to a small hill. The mercury mine is right there—it’s easy to find.” The guide gestured toward the camp with his spear, then quickly freed himself from Sun Licheng’s grasp and dashed off as if something were chasing him.

Sun Licheng watched as the goblin guide fled the valley at breakneck speed, then glanced at the timid slaves surrounding him and sighed. Judging by their demeanor, leading this group into the fortress was out of the question. He considered his options and decided to lead everyone back out of the valley.

The slaves were overjoyed that Sun Licheng no longer insisted on taking them to such a frightening place. Their spirits revived, and their enthusiasm for work soared, leaving Sun Licheng both amused and exasperated.

“These people are nothing but a bunch of rascals,” Sun Licheng muttered to himself with a long sigh.

He was unaware that, on a nearby hillside, the Star Moon Tribe’s goblin guide was watching them intently.

Though the slaves were cowardly, they were skilled workers. Under Sun Licheng’s direction, they quickly erected a sturdy camp. The slaves found it curious that Sun Licheng’s shelters were so spacious—they surmised he was accustomed to comfort and large houses. Yet since the big shelters also accommodated them, they were quite pleased.

Once the camp was nearly complete, Sun Licheng led the slaves on a hunt while the Wolf King kept watch. He trusted that none of them would dare run, as they had nowhere to go and would surely be killed if caught. Indeed, even when hunting at a distance, the slaves remained obedient, and at last, a smile broke through Sun Licheng’s tense expression.

Seeing that nothing unusual was happening, the Star Moon Tribe’s goblin finally rose from the ground, brushed the dust from his fur, and quietly retreated with his spear.

Meanwhile, deep within the tunnels, the battle automaton that resembled an Ashura led his followers to the outskirts of the goblin aerial base. What was astonishing was that each wore several battle automaton heads at their waists—taken from those fallen automatons along Sun Licheng’s breakout route.

Thanks to their enemy-identification systems, the Ashuras were not attacked by the wolf-rabbits and made their way smoothly to the mountain range that resembled a Great Wall.

Standing atop the mountain, the Ashura surveyed the landscape—a field of airship wreckage, their hulls jutting from the earth like swords. Amidst the debris, the bodies of fallen battle automatons could be glimpsed, along with the occasional centipede monster slithering about.

Suddenly, a centipede monster spotted the intruders and hissed. In moments, a swarm of creatures surged from all directions.

The Ashura remained calm. With a wave of his hand, his battle automatons rushed down the slope, hacking off the heads of fallen automatons with their weapons.

It turned out that the battle automatons’ heads contained goblin computer CPU chips. Even if an automaton had been destroyed, as long as the chip was intact, its stored information could be retrieved—information that was vital to the Ashuras. So, as they traveled, they collected the heads to take back with them.

Suddenly, the Ashura’s electronic eye flashed red, and a battle automaton halted. Beneath its blade was Mechanic No. 1.

With a thunderous leap, the Ashura jumped down the slope, shaking the earth. He deftly traced his hand across Mechanic No. 1’s body, opened its abdomen, and gazed in wonder at the supplies and the tiny magic crystal slot within.

By now, the centipede monsters were drawing near, their shrill hissing growing louder. The Ashura signaled, and the battle automatons abandoned their work and began a swift retreat. Two of them hoisted Mechanic No. 1 and ran up the hillside, while the Ashura drew his eight weapons.

The nearest centipede monster lunged. The Ashura’s electronic eye flashed red, and he rushed into the creature horde like a hurricane, unleashing a mist of blood.

After shredding the monsters before him like a meat grinder, the Ashura seized the moment as the creatures faltered, spun, sprinted a few steps, and with a powerful leap soared halfway up the mountain like a roc. By the time the monsters tried to pursue, he was already far out of reach.

Frustrated, the monsters roared and charged up the mountain, but when they reached the summit, not a trace of the mechanical automatons remained—the Ashuras had simply moved too fast.

Meanwhile, the retreating mechanical automatons failed to notice a snow eagle circling in the clouds above, observing everything below.

In the divine realm, Wind God Edison flung his goblet aside with a loud crash.

“How infuriating! These fools have become reckless, causing trouble at the goblin aerial base every day. Do they not realize this god is busy?” Wind God growled.

The previous investigation had been hastily concluded due to the Oceanic Gods’ forceful intervention.

The incident stirred tremendous reactions among the gods; some supported, some opposed, others watched in amusement. With the God of Radiance maintaining silence and the God of Conspiracy declaring it merely an isolated event, the matter was dismissed.

Wind God realized that the divine realm was likely brewing a storm, and no one wished to be distracted by mundane affairs on the mortal plane. He, too, said no more about it and instead focused on improving his own strength.

“Sigh…” Hearing the news that the intruders had escaped, the deity sighed and closed his eyes to meditate once more.

Outside the valley, under moonlight as pale as water, everyone gathered around a giant bonfire. Sun Licheng was turning a spit-roasted mountain goat.

With a hiss, as Sun Licheng sprinkled seasoning, a savory aroma wafted through the camp, making the slaves’ mouths water.

When the roast was nearly done, Sun Licheng took the goat from the fire, laid it on fresh leaves, and sliced it into pieces with a blade made from broken jade.

“Eat!” Sun Licheng commanded the slaves, who stared at him in disbelief.

Since becoming slaves, they had never tasted their masters’ food—leftovers were a luxury.

“I said eat!” Sun Licheng barked.

The slaves snapped out of their stupor, lunged for the meat, and devoured it as if possessed, tossing the steaming roast into their mouths.

“Delicious! Delicious!” they exclaimed, praising the feast.

Watching his ravenous charges, Sun Licheng was speechless. Now, he only hoped that Mr. Skillful and the others would arrive soon.

“We’re still short of hands,” Sun Licheng sighed.